and suddenly, it's spontaneous combustion before my eyes,
a boy consumed by the crimson spread of embers glowing in his throat.
fly-away hair smolders and glasses melt away beneath

words that pour like velvet fire from his thin lips, singe walls and
scorch curtains. echoes of ashes remain of the inferno in my eardrums, and
the charred air still heavy with incense of a black-burning fervor that lingers.

swaying column of flame encased in a silken voice boxthank you: he utters softly, bowing his head and returns to his seat

after he sets the room ablaze.

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